The evening session also provided more than its fair share of thrills, which you can read about more in-depth below, as Adrian Lewis put on a virtuoso display to dismantle Andrew Gilding and stir talk of being a true title favourite (10/1 with Coral) again. Fellow trophy contender Peter Wright also sank Ronny Huybrechts without conceding a set.

And, last but not least, 16-time world champion Phil Taylor, finished off the night with an incredibly wobbly display. Although he eventually triumphed 4-1, The Power threatened to come unstuck against dark horse Kevin Painter. Read more on his uncharacteristic outing…

Adrian Lewis 4-0 Andrew Gilding (3-0, 3-1, 3-1, 3-0)

Jackpot got off to a barn-storming start with two maximums within minutes, whittling the first leg down to 41, which he then dispatched as part of an electric 11-dart opener.

Lewis continued in that vein, perhaps sending a power scoring message to title rival Michael van Gerwen, after the Dutchman’s own oche extravaganza the night before. The Englishman swept to the first set unopposed in just 41 darts, including a checkout on the bull, as Goldfinger struggled to exert any influence on the game.

Gilding eventually managed to grab a leg in the second set, but it was a mere consolation prize and small annoyance for rampant Jackpot, who galloped on to a 2-0 lead and it was a similar story for the third.

Peter Wright 4-0 Ronny Huybrechts (3-1, 3-0, 3-1, 3-2)

Dressed rather conservatively for his standards, sporting a luminous yellow Mohawk and black, yellow, grey pattern pants, Snakebite also surged ferociously toward the first leg finish line. Though, the Scot slipped up crucially with three missed darts to allow Huybrechts first blood, indicating it may not all be one-way traffic.

Wright rectified his error in the second leg and, once underway, sped to set spoils, but was still far from his scintillating best. There were promising sparks from Snakebite as he stretched his sets lead, but also palpable frustration from the world number four.

It was much more a case of cruise control for Wright in the last two sets, though The Rebel provided little resistance despite a late rally and, with Dave Chisnall to tackle next, Snakebite (18/1 to win the World Darts Championship) needs to channel his inner venom.

Phil Taylor 4-1 Kevin Painter (1-3, 3-2, 3-2, 3-1, 3-0)

On the trail of his 17th World Championship title, titan Taylor was the recipient of an ecstatic Ally Pally in full song, but overwhelmingly let old foe Painter pinch the first leg.

The Power pulled one back, but confident opponent The Artist edged ahead yet again to put the all-time great under some serious early pressure. Seemingly shell-shocked Taylor’s scoring was all over the place, and eventually he surrendered the first set.

It just got worse after the break for The Power, who was suffering a serious outage, as Painter once again pulled ahead. It took all of Taylor’s tenacity to hit double five and level sets, after scuppering endless chances to kill the deciding leg, but his vital finish turned the tide.